The object of this essay has been to investigate the interlibrary loan service at the universitylibraries of Borås and Kalmar. For this purpose a quantitative and a qualitative methodhave been used.The main body of information consists of statistic data concerning the incoming interlendingorders for a three-month-period. In order to examine the circumstances under which theinterlending activity exists several interviews were made.The study showed that there are several important factors which together make up the complexitythat governs the interlending activity. What type of demand there is depends on theeducational level, whether the different study programmes have a broad or limited subjectorientation or not, and if the demand is of a constant or an inconstant nature. Well-establishedroutines at the information-desk and co-operation with the departments of the different studyprogrammes are important factors in keeping the knowledge of what books and serials areneeded up to date.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the possibilities for creating a national interlibraryloan system in Sweden and to see how it could be integrated into an international network .The methods used are both qualitative and quantitative. We have sent inquiries to a numberof libraries and we have interviewed keypersons in the interlibrary loan field in Sweden.We have reached the conclusion that in spite of several impediments there is a lot that speaksfor a Swedish national interlibrary loan system in the near future. A national bibliographicdatabase is already evolving.